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HOW TO BE GENEROUS

What an exciting time to be a part of Easter Lutheran Church! You can feel the Spirit’s energy as we gather for worship, faith formation, and fellowship. Our new pastors bring creativity and stability to the work of the church. We look ahead to one joint ministry at the corner of Pilot Knob and Cliff. 

As Easter people, your financial generosity makes this ministry possible. There are many ways to be generous. Here are three of the many ways you can be generous.

GIFTS FROM INCOME

Many Easter people provide support as a portion of their income.  In the church, and across all non-profit organizations, this is the most common type of gift.  People give to Easter’s ongoing ministry through their ongoing income. Some calculate a percentage of income. Others determine a simple dollar amount. Others give gifts to specific appeals as they feel moved.  Consistency is the key to giving from income.  A gift of $20 per week adds up to over $1,000 in the course of a year.  Where writing a check for $1,200 one time per year could be hard, providing $100 per month as an automatic draft can be very manageable for people.

PLANNED GIFTS

For many families, the largest gift they will ever give comes through their estate. Easter has a history of estate gifts making a huge impact on our ministry. This type of gift comes in many forms. Some name the congregation in their will. Others list Easter as a beneficiary of an IRA or life insurance policy.

GIFTS FROM ASSETS

Others are able to provide gifts from some their assets. While some share these gifts for Easter’s ongoing ministry, gifts from assets often allow families to give significant, one-time gifts to make a specific project possible.  Gifts from assets can include gifts from savings, CDs, stocks, IRAs, or mutual funds.  There can be significant tax savings for people giving assets.  Appreciated assets will normally have capital gains taxes due, but the church is exempt from those. For those who are age 70.5 or older, there are special ways to give directly from your traditional IRA to the church which allows you to get credit for any Required Minimum Distribution that may be due and you avoid having to pay income taxes.  The church can provide assistance with asset and IRA gifts.

Gifts from all funding sources allow Easter to boldly step forward in mission. God richly provides for God’s people. How might God call you to share from that income, asset, or estate to allow God’s mission to move forward?

In the coming year, Easter Lutheran Church will take a significant step to honor fifty years of ministry and get ready to follow where God is leading our congregation. After over 20 years of physical separation, Easter will become one site. We will gather all our ministry and congregational life together at our existing property on the corner of Cliff and Pilot Knob.

Early in 2024, Easter will engage in a capital campaign to make this possible.

Terolle and Dale Turnham, 

both became Easter Members in 1977

We feel amazing energy within the congregation and find ourselves wondering what God is doing in our midst. Jesus teaches us that we are to love our neighbor. Easter intentionally reaches out to care for others through staff, volunteers and service partners in our outreach ministries.  We are thrilled with all of the ways that children, youth and families are supported through faith formation and service opportunities.

Being generous with our finances has been our practice since we married in 1986. We are deeply grateful for the pastoral care given to our family as we mourned the deaths of my sister, Kristi Ann Lockrem and later, my parents, Elaine and Gar Lockrem. We want that sort of care to be available to others through a strong team of pastors and lay people. We feel amazed at the multitude of blessings God has given us and out of gratitude, we return to God a measure of our money, time, and talents.

While meeting with our financial planner, he suggested using funds gleaned from our IRA through the required minimum distribution (RMD) as a Qualified Charitable Distribution. What is that? A qualified charitable distribution (QCD) allows folks who are 70½ years old and older to donate up to $100,000 total to one or more charities directly from a taxable IRA instead of taking their required minimum distributions. If the IRA assets go directly to charity, donors don’t report QCDs as taxable income and don’t owe any taxes on the QCD, even if they do not itemize deductions. Some donors may also find that QCDs provide greater tax savings than cash donations for which charitable tax deductions are claimed.

We decided to use the QCD process to maximize the use of our funds. We are able to give Easter a larger gift and we have a smaller income to report for taxes. In addition, it is so convenient and easy.

If you or your partner are 70½ years of age, consider reducing your taxable income and putting a QCD to work for the benefit of the ministries at Easter.

Contact your financial planner to find out how to make this happen.

(or contact Darci Dawson, Easter Finance, in the church office ddawson@easter.org)

Growing up, my parents instilled the importance of donating time and money to church and programs that were important to us. I started giving on my own when I was in college and working part-time as a server. Money was tight but I knew I wanted to donate when and what I could, usually a 10 or 20 dollar bill if I had a really busy night with good tippers. I was unable to donate regularly but excited for when I could. 

After graduating and starting my first “full time big girl job,” I knew I wanted to start regularly giving to Easter. After budgeting my monthly expenses, I realized I did not have a lot left over. I wondered if it would be worth signing up for committed giving of $10 or $15 dollars per week. I prayed for guidance, if it would be worth donating what in my mind was a small amount, towards Easter’s overall budget. 

I had experienced so much joy and growth since joining Easter: 

• I met other members through the Young Adults Group and volunteering on Sundays. 

• I saw Loaves and Fishes not only fed people it created friendships, Easter partnered with other local churches to host an emergency homeless shelter during the winter, and kids ran around the gym after service while parents caught up with each other (and picked up chairs). 

• I saw firsthand how lives were transformed and teens went from feeling hopeless to hopeful and loved by attending TreeHouse. 

• I loved the warm and inviting atmosphere Easter offered to my family and continues to offer to new attendees. 

I committed to weekly giving and have continued to participate in it. I have been blessed in the ability to increase my weekly committed giving every year, as I view giving as important as paying my mortgage, car payment, and student loans. 

It has been important to me to continue to complete the annual pledge card as it allows Easter to budget resources locally and globally. 

• This ensures we can continue to support all that Easter does to blur the lines between church and community, even if I am unable to attend on Sunday. 

• It alleviates the stress of having to stop for cash on my way to church when I am already running late or write a hurried check as the offering plate nears me. 

While I am confident that I am still not a top donor, I am grateful that my committed giving will help Easter continue to create warm, safe, and inviting spaces to be Jesus’ hands and feet in the community, as one site. 

Think of all Easter has accomplished as two sites with all of the extra costs and at times, inefficiencies. Now think of how much more we can accomplish as one site; the possibilities are endless!